Shattered Destiny (29 page)

He can't stand to touch me.
She didn't think it was possible for her brain to become even more muddled.
Men!
For a brief moment, Gwen considered waking Kaelin. Surely, the girl would have some advice about how to deal with Feeror. She floated in place awhile
longer, drinking in the serenity of the Gentran landscape before sighing loudly and making her way back to her own room.
Not that I'm likely to get any sleep anyway!

*   *   *

“I don't see why we are even bothering to go.”

Brad refused to answer. He had heard it all before. When he'd spotted the girl exiting her room, he had followed. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before their trip through the portal.

Kaelin furrowed her brow and sighed in exasperation. “Fine, I won't bring it up anymore.”

“I just don't see that it does any good. We have no choice.”

“Well excuse me for not being as self-sacrificing as you!” Kaelin huffed.

“Besides, I'm not sure I would want to go back to my world alone.” Brad said the words, holding his breath.

Kaelin's heart raced. There was a part of her – a
large
part – that wanted to remain near Brad. “You could always come with me,” she whispered.

Brad shook his head as he drew her in close. A part of him marveled at how completely his mind was Gentran while on this world. He was quite certain that, were he to be walking about on Earth, he wouldn't find her gelatinous form quite as appealing. But here on this world, she was a great beauty, and the feel of her body and the fine cilia under his hand made his heart race.

“I don't mean to be so whiney! I am just tired of the adventure. I want to settle down and live peacefully and quietly.” Kaelin was annoyed that this race didn't have the ability to produce tears. She needed a good long cry.

“Believe it or not, I want those things as well. But I can't live peacefully for a few short years, knowing that something horrible is coming for those I care about.”

“You know, this thing with you being right is getting to be
insufferable.” Kaelin elbowed Brad.

“It's a terrible habit that I can't seem to break,” Brad said mockingly.

Kaelin snorted a burst of water through her siphon. Truth be told, she was grateful for the playful banter. It distracted her from her fear and misery. She wished she could be as brave as Gwen or as steadfast as Brad, but she just wanted to go home.

Brad gave her a final squeeze. “Come. We need to get some sleep.”

Kaelin nodded reluctantly and watched the man swim to his rooms. She smiled and waved when she saw him look back one last time before disappearing inside. Keera, Jon, and Saemus were snoring in their sleeping areas. Kaelin smiled at Gwen's absence. She had noticed the girl leaving and had spotted her and Feeror talking near the large window in the main hallway. She and Brad had gone the opposite direction, not wanting to intrude.

Gwen returned, and the two girls shared a small smile. They tried to still their racing thoughts, sheer exhaustion taking over and sending them into a deep sleep.

VOLGON

“GREAT LUCIAN'S GHOST!
Look
at me!” Kaelin wailed. She stared at her thick, scaly skin in horror.

“What's wrong?” Moylir stretched, reveling in the feel of her own strong body. She was tired of being stuck in a body with such weak outer coverings. She was doubly pleased to see the armor and weapons right where they had left them. She began putting on her armor, trying to ignore the cries of dismay from the Astran and Earth Chosen.

“I'm a giant lizard!”

“And on your world, I was a pasty weakling. We have all had to suffer in less-than-perfect bodies.”

The Volgon Chosen donned their armor and utility belts. There was some argument as to who would get to wear the armor belonging to Kyron and Seelyr.

“We will draw straws again.” Gerok growled as he placed his small plasma side-arm in its holster. This was the first time since the deaths of the Chosen that he felt strong again.

“Why does it matter who gets it? No one will be visible anyway. We don't have time for these games. The Kromins could be here any time with the ship. We must get to the colony,” Moylir said curtly.

“Let's just leave it here. I don't really feel like I need clothes anyway.” Gwen was a little disappointed to find her body on this world as twisted as her form on Astra and Earth. However, she was glad that she stood a little taller, although everyone was larger than usual.

“How are we going to find our way to the weapon if everyone is invisible? We don't know how to get there,” Gwen said.

Gerok ground his teeth in frustration. He hadn't anticipated this complication. “What do you suggest?”

She balked a little at his glare. “I'm not sure. This is your world. You know it better than I do.”

“Perhaps one of us can remain visible. If anyone attacks, the others can join the fight if need be,” Voilor suggested.

Gerok hated having anyone one of his Chosen out in the open, but it appeared this might be the only way. “So be it.”

Gwen was relieved to be invisible. She hadn't missed Feeror's flinch when he'd seen her emerge from the portal. All hope that the man was getting over his revulsion had died with that involuntary movement.

Voilor volunteered to remain visible so the others could follow him to the Colony. He took the lead, setting a quick pace. He stayed to the shadows, moving quickly and silently. He gritted his teeth at the quiet sounds of movement coming from behind. Any youngling would be whipped within an inch of their lives for making so much noise while away from the protection of the shield.

He spotted movement and signaled the others to take cover. His sharp eyes noticed a Volgon moving about leisurely. Disappointment filled him when he saw it wasn't a Gorkon. The behavior of the Volgon bothered Voilor, though he couldn't put a finger on exactly why.

“What is he doing walking in the open?”

Voilor jumped a little at the disembodied voice of Gerok. “Perhaps there is an enemy close-by, and he is attempting to draw them out.” Voilor watched the man, and nothing in his demeanor suggested he was doing anything more than going for a nice walk.

Except Volgons did no such thing.

Before they could speculate further, another Volgon, this one a child, came running from around one of the buildings. Voilor drew
his plasma side-arm, certain that he would see a Gorkon sprinting after the young pup.

And then a sound unlike any he had ever heard came floating on the slight breeze: a child's high-pitched laugh.

Voilor could not ever remember hearing anyone in the Colony laugh. The sound sent chills up his spine that were not altogether unpleasant. More like unfamiliar and strange, but pleasing at the same time.

A tall Volgon female appeared from behind another ruined building, jumping at the pup and causing it to squeal in delight and run off again. Her mate, though trying to enjoy the moment, seemed too busy looking everywhere at once, as if expecting an attack.

“What are they
doing
?” Gerok's voice sounded on the verge of cracking under the strain.

“I'll find out.” Throwing caution to the wind, Voilor stepped from his hiding spot to confront the trio.

The three stopped dead in their tracks. The female motioned to the pup to come closer.

“What are you doing?” Voilor asked.

“I could ask the same of you.” In a movement born of centuries of war, the big male had loosened his weapon so quickly that had Voilor not been looking, he would have missed it. “I do not know you.”

“I am a stranger.” Voilor did not recognize any of the three. He wondered how long they had been gone to have two full-grown adults from Colony 3 that he did not recognize.

“What is your home Colony?”

Voilor hesitated only an instant before answering. “Colony 3.”

The big man relaxed a fraction. “We are from Colony 1.”

Voilor waited for him to offer more. The questions he wished to ask would give the big man more than enough reason to shoot him. “Why are you so far from home?”

“I am one of the Builders. I needed to finish mapping the city for the Restoration.”

It was as if the man was speaking another language.
Builders? Restoration?
Voilor merely nodded as if he understood what the man said.

“We are on our way to Colony 3. Shall we travel together?”

Voilor could see no reason to refuse without arousing suspicion. He hoped the others stayed behind so that their movements couldn't be heard.

“I am called Feylir, and this is my mate Kenfir. The little one is Namleeyr.” He looked on his young pup fondly as she scampered ahead of the adults, only to run back a few seconds later holding a shiny rock or bit of metal.

“I am Voilor.” He hoped the man from Colony 1 hadn't heard about him. The last thing he needed was to be taken into custody because Gerok had struck General Kroylir.

“Do you not have any food or water rations?”

Voilor relaxed a little. The man obviously had no idea who he was. “I was only out for the day so I did not bring any along.”

“Are you a Builder too? I thought I had met all of them.”

Voilor shook his head. “No, I am not a Builder. Merely curious about the cities of old.”

“It will be good to get out of the holes and the dirt we have been living in for so long. It feels strange to be so exposed.”

Voilor did not know what to say. He had deduced that the Volgons has decided to rebuild the cities and that they would no longer be living underground.
How can this be?
He wanted to grab the man by his shoulders and demand to know all that had transpired since they had left. Instead, he simply walked, watched, and listened.

There were many Volgons out walking in the heat of the day. Many looked as though they had no destination in mind and were simply
walking.
Others were digging deep furrows in the dirt. A few more walked behind them, carrying strange contraptions on their backs that sprayed some sort of greenish liquid on the newly turned dirt.

“If the engineers are correct, we should be able to grow plants by next season.”

Voilor was so thoroughly in shock that all he could manage was a slight shake of the head. Many of the Volgons were not wearing their armor. They looked
naked
without it. The ones with no armor still wore their utility belts with weapons and shield.

The trio seemed to sense his desire for silence and did not speak the rest of the journey to Colony 3. Voilor's eyes bulged when he caught sight of the entry and the Volgons coming and going at their leisure. There wasn't even a guard.

Something has happened here. Something
big.

There was a lot of traffic in the entry. Voilor worried about how the others would sneak inside. He shook his head. He could not worry about them. It was possible he would encounter someone who recognized him and who would sound the alarm. His attention was better spent keeping an eye out for Volgons he knew.

“Voilor! Is that you?”

He turned slowly at the familiar voice of his mate, Syrlir. She stood, armor-less and confused. He couldn't seem to make his voice work.

“Where have you
been
? We thought you all had been killed in a Gorkon raid.” She wanted to reach out to him, but she held back.

“No, we weren't killed.”

“Is that all you have to say?” She crossed her arms, and her eyes burned with anger. “You have been gone years, and yet all you can say is ‘we weren't killed’? And where is everyone else?”

Things were spiraling out of control. Others were stopping to stare at the encounter. Voilor started backing toward the entrance to the colony, ready to fight if anyone tried to stop him.

Without needing to say a word, the Astrans dropped the shield, unwilling to sit by and let their comrade face an inquisitive and possibly dangerous mob alone. The Volgons drew their weapons, looking everywhere at once.

“Premier Viisyr?”

Incredulous voices greeted the sudden appearance of their Premier as did fear at seeing a room that, only moments before had held only a few Volgons, suddenly brimming with them.

“We did not mean to alarm you.” Gerok hadn't meant to have the Astrans drop the shield, but Voilor was attracting too much attention.

Gerok had wanted to throttle the man when he had boldly walked up to the trio wandering through the ruined city. Their purpose was not to figure out what was happening but to retrieve
the sound weapon and meet the Kromins back at the ruined city.

“What is the meaning of this?”

A Volgon standing nearly nine feet tall strode into the main room of the Level 1.

A General, but not Kroylir.

“We have been gone on a secret mission and have just now returned.”

“Secret mission?” The big Volgon's tone indicated his disbelief.

“Yes, involving a weapon so powerful as to defy imagining.” Gerok spoke quickly, his mind reeling with the hint of an idea that would explain their presence as well as the strangers’. He motioned the Astran Chosen to move so that the rest could get a glimpse of Gwen. They had hidden her, unwilling to subject her to the loathing she was sure to face.